Because of their fragile nature, personal computers must be handled with extreme care during packing and transporting operations. Typically, computers are packaged at the manufacturing facility using cardboard boxes and resilient inserts. For example, large foam blocks can be positioned over the ends of the computer, and the resulting assembly can then be inserted into a heavy-duty cardboard box. The box is subsequently sealed closed by taping or gluing.
To provide adequate protection from the shocks that can be incurred during the transporting process, it is well-known that the foam blocks must be relatively thick. Typically, the foam is roughly half the thickness of the computer on all sides of the computer. In addition, in order to allow the packaged computers to be stacked, the cardboard box must be very strong. Due to the size of the computers and the thickness of the foam, these boxes must also be very large. It is estimated that the foam and cardboard associated with packaging computers costs roughly $12 per computer.
During transport, the computers are commonly stacked onto a pallet and secured in place using packing straps, stretch wrap, or both. When stacked in this configuration, roughly eighteen (18) computers can be stacked onto a pallet. The packaged and palleted computers occupy roughly eighty-six (86) cubic feet.
When the packaged computer is received by the user, the box is cut open, typically using a knife or other sharp tool. The computer and foam are then carefully removed from the box, and the foam blocks are removed from the end of the computer. The user must then dispose of the cardboard and foam, which is undesirable from an environmental perspective. If a large quantity of computers are being received, the tasks of opening the boxes, removing the computers, and disposing the packaging materials can be significant, and can result in considerable expense to the user.